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Modular seatbelt minderModular seatbelt minder description/claimsThe Patent Description & Claims data below is from USPTO Patent Application 20080068149, Modular seatbelt minder. Brief Patent Description - Full Patent Description - Patent Application Claims
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS [0001]Not Applicable STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT [0002]Not Applicable REFERENCE TO A SEQUENCE LISTING, A TABLE, OR A COMPUTER PROGRAM LISTING COMPACT DISC APPENDIX [0003]Not Applicable BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0004]1. Field of the Invention [0005]This invention relates in general to vehicle safety devices, and more specifically, to a system for alerting a vehicle occupant of an unsecured safety restraint device. [0006]2. Background of Related Art [0007]Automotive vehicles employ safety restraint devices for the safety of passengers of the vehicle. The safety restraint systems restrain a vehicle occupant in a vehicle seat for protecting the occupant in the event of a collision. A primary vehicle restraint system commonly utilized in vehicles today is seatbelt restraint devices. Seatbelts usually include a lap belt and a shoulder belt that extends diagonally across the occupant's torso from one end of the lap belt to a mounting structure located proximate to the occupant's opposite shoulder. [0008]Safety restraint systems typically provide a respective reminder signal generated by a safety harness monitoring device connected to a control module. In addition, a respective signal from a seat occupying monitoring device may also be provided to the control module. Prior to a controller acting upon the respective signals from the safety harness monitoring device and seat monitoring device, such signals are typically converted to digital signal by respective analog to digital (A/D) signal converters so that the controller may process the incoming signals. Typically, adding respective A/D signal converters solely for signal conversion for these respective monitoring devices adds complexity and cost to the vehicle safety system. BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION [0009]The present invention has the advantage of detecting a presence of one or more unrestrained vehicle occupants seated within the vehicle. The present invention further provides a pre-processed alert output signal to a safety restraint control module identifying an unrestrained vehicle occupant where the pre-processed signal requires no additional processing by the safety restraint control module for determining whether an unrestrained vehicle occupant is present. In addition, a resistance output circuit is provided for converting the alert output signal that is indicative of the presence of the unrestrained vehicle occupant to a resistance output value for alerting a safety control module. [0010]In one aspect of the present invention, a vehicle restraint occupant sensing system is provided for detecting a presence of an unrestrained vehicle occupant in a vehicle seat. A seat belt restraint sensing circuit senses whether a seat belt is in an unlatched condition. An occupant sensing system includes at least one sensor assembly in spaced relation to a vehicle seat for sensing a presence of the occupant in the vehicle seat. The occupant sensing system includes a comparator circuit coupled to the at least one sensor assembly and the seat belt restraint sensing circuit for producing an output signal indicative of the presence of the occupant. A logic circuit is disposed within the vehicle seat coupled to an output of the comparator circuit and the seat belt restraint sensing circuit for providing an alert output signal when the seat belt is in the unlatched condition and the output signal indicates that the occupant is present. [0011]In yet another aspect of the present invention, a method is provided for detecting an unrestrained vehicle occupant seated on a vehicle seat of a vehicle. A seat belt restraint sensing circuit, an occupant sensing circuit, and a logic circuit are provided. Each of the respective circuits are disposed adjacent a lower surface of the vehicle seat cushion. A seat belt is sensed for determining whether the seat belt is in an unlatched condition. A presence of the occupant in the vehicle seat is sensed. A determination is made in the logic circuit whether a vehicle occupant is unrestrained in response to the sensing an unlatched seat belt while the presence of the occupant in the vehicle seat is sensed. An alert output signal is output to a controller module remote from the vehicle seat indicative of an unrestrained vehicle occupant. [0012]Various objects and advantages of this invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art from the following detailed description of the preferred embodiment, when read in light of the accompanying drawings. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS [0013]FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an interior vehicle seat monitoring system of the present invention. [0014]FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a belt alert monitoring system according of the present invention. [0015]FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of a belt alert monitoring system of the present invention. [0016]FIG. 4 is a logic table for the logic circuit shown in FIG. 3. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT [0017]Referring now to the drawings, there is illustrated in FIG. 1 a vehicle 10 having a safety restraint alert system is shown generally at 12. The safety restraint alert system 12 is disposed adjacent a lower surface of the vehicle seat cushion 14 of a vehicle seat 16 for variably sensing a displacement of the vehicle seat cushion 14 for identifying a presence of the occupant in the vehicle seat 16. It is understood that the safety restraint alert system 12, although shown only in the driver vehicle seat, may be utilized in each passenger seat of the vehicle 10. Continue reading about Modular seatbelt minder... Full patent description for Modular seatbelt minder Brief Patent Description - Full Patent Description - Patent Application Claims Click on the above for other options relating to this Modular seatbelt minder patent application. ###  How KEYWORD MONITOR works... a FREE service from FreshPatents1. Sign up (takes 30 seconds). 2. Fill in the keywords to be monitored. 3. Each week you receive an email with patent applications related to your keywords. Start now! - Receive info on patent apps like Modular seatbelt minder or other areas of interest. ### Previous Patent Application: Wheel position detecting device that verifies accuracy of detection using trigger signal reception strength and tire air pressure detecting device including the same Next Patent Application: Monitoring and entry system presence service Industry Class: Communications: electrical ### FreshPatents.com Support Thank you for viewing the Modular seatbelt minder patent info. IP-related news and info Results in 0.13 seconds Other interesting Feshpatents.com categories: Software: Finance , AI , Databases , Development , Document , Navigation , Error 174 |
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